Anyone Enjoy Sangria?

[blackdog1101]

I had sangria in a restaurant recently, and really enjoyed it. I've made my own twice now, and although it's a little different tasting than what the restaurant served, it's very good. It's just a "basic" sangria, but there are lots of variations. It's a very refreshing drink, nice on a warm summer evening. Here is the receipe I've been using.

Ingredients
1 bottle Rioja (other red wines will do nicely too)
2 cups ginger ale
1/4 cup brandy
1/2 cup Triple Sec
4 slices orange
2 cups orange juice

Mix all together, and let sit in a fridge overnight. The next day, pour some over ice cubes and toss in a garnish of fresh fruit. Enjoy!

I happen to have a case of Lindeman's Cabernet/Merlot on hand, so that's what I've been using. Cheap Korbel brandy and DeKuyper's Triple Sec. Anyone have receipes they like?

 

[ouch]

When you say there are a lot of variations in sangria, you're not kidding. Sometimes I'll use Cointreau instead of triple sec amd Grand Marnier instead of (or in addition to) brandy (or cognac), and I use seltzer instead of ginger ale, but yours is a great place to start or finish.

It may not be a serious drink, but it's a dangerous one- it goes down so easily it's easy to find yourself saying "what happened?"

 

[Walter Sobchak]

It's a great summer punch! Refreshing and delicious. I dig it in every form I've tried.

 

[Shane]

I love the stuff. One of the many different drinks I like to keep on hand while manning the grill.

 

[schwartr]

The Olive Garden has some great sangria!

 

[BobS]

We loved sangria when living in Tampico, Mexico, but it was more like a wine cooler down there. They had a strong, sweet, limeade that they mixed with red wine.

It came to the table with the wine floating on the limeade and you mixed it with a straw. Very refreshing.

 

[Aevum]

Rioja ? you kidding me ?
we have vino de mesa specialy for that, basicly wine that comes in cardboard boxes that sells for around 70-80 cents a litre,

add Lemon or lime soda, some brandy, a bit of cinnamon, red/sweet apples, pineapples and peaches in slices (or canned if you´re in a hurry, just carful with the syrup), and a touch of honey,

 

[RoyalKooparillo]

There's a great interior Mexican restaurant in Austin called Fonda San Miguel...has some of the best sangria I've tried. Fresh mangos, strawberries, peaches...just delicious. More than a couple, though, and you're asking for a little buzz.

 

[blackdog1101]

Rioja ? you kidding me ?
we have vino de mesa specialy for that, basicly wine that comes in cardboard boxes that sells for around 70-80 cents a litre,

We don't have any wine that sells that cheaply. It's almost impossible to buy a drinkable wine for under $5 per 750ml bottle.

 

[ouch]

The Olive Garden has some great sangria!

And it's the punchline of one of my favorite jokes-

I played at The Garden. The Olive Garden.

We don't have any wine that sells that cheaply. It's almost impossible to buy a drinkable wine for under $5 per 750ml bottle.

It's still possible, but it's betting harder all the time. Look for wines from Jorge Ordonez, who for the last fifteen years or so has been delivering the best values anywhere.

 

[tblech]

Wine in a cardboard box, sounds like that venerable varietals, Merlot...

But it makes good sangria

 

[strat1117]

My wife likes it. Too much sugar for me, although I'll drink it when we're eating paella or mariscada at La Rioja.

 

[Myanmar Shave]

The Chimayo Restaurant in Chimayo, New Mexico has the best sangria I have ever had. Went there a few years ago while I was in Santa Fe. My girlfriend and I spent an incredible afternoon with a huge pitcher overlooking the desert from the patio.

You owe it to yourself to go to Chimayo if you are ever in NM. It's that good...


Marty E.

 

[1OldGI]

SWMBO is a huge fan and while I do like Sangria, something about it gives me a horrendous headache (even if fairly controlled quantities)

 

[Abagadro]

Headache is likely because of the increased sugar content from the fruit and/or that it is often made with rather cheap hooch that has lots of tannins that are masked by the fruit/sugar/brandy but still cause problems for some people as many are sensitive to tannins.

My wife and I got into this on our trip to Spain in May and have since made it a few times ourselves. You can put almost any fruit to your liking and its good stuff. We like a variation made with cava (Spanigh champagne) as it is a bit lighter.

 

[Lynchmeister]

My first two sangria experiences both left a positive mark on me. My first exposure to it was in the summer of 1999 in Hösbach, Germany. I was 17 year old foreign exchange student and remember the night vividly. We were at what the Germans called a "Beach Party." Apparently much was lost in translation here...imagine if you can a series of outdoor event tents spread across the interior of a motocross track. They hauled in a truckload of sand and a kids swimming pool and called it a beach!

Inside the tents were all of the local beer vendors and within the big tent was a smaller, sectioned off area with a hanging plastic strip door (think meat locker door) and an imposing, handwritten sign announcing that you are now entering the "Bar." From within the bar any number of non-beer delights could be had, sangria included. Remember those little plastic sand pails you played with at the beach as a kid? They served the sangria in these with 5 two foot long straws hanging out the side. It was awesome.




Fast forward now 2 years to October of 2001 when I was living and studying in Scotland. Halfway through the semester we were given a 3 week travel break. Myself and 3 of my buddies set off with Eurail passes in hand and eventually ended up in Barcelona. From there we took a ferry to the tiny island of Ibiza with promising thoughts of wild foam parties, wild girls...wild everything. What we failed to take into consideration was that it was October and the off season. During that time, Ibiza was just a quiet little island off the coast of Spain full of locals and not much more.

On our first night in Ibiza after settling into our rented condo, we went down to the beachfront bar, which was tended by a nice, old, Spanish lady. We ordered a pitcher of sangria and her face just lit up with excitement! She painstaking labored over the preparation for a 1/2 hour, I kid you not. Taking extra care to uniformly slice the fruit and ad just the right proportions of alcohol to juice. When she was finally finished, she slowly and carefully reached out with both hands and pushed the pitcher towards us on the bar and then, in a hushed voice full of both wonder and pride, said, "San-gri-a!"

Again, it was awesome.

 

[Austin]

There's a great interior Mexican restaurant in Austin called Fonda San Miguel...has some of the best sangria I've tried. Fresh mangos, strawberries, peaches...just delicious. More than a couple, though, and you're asking for a little buzz.

I have had this beverage at Fonda SM. It was quite nice.

 

[letterk]

Love it when eating Tapas.

 

[Aevum]

if you ever come by madrid, right off gran via, taking the first (or was it 2nd) right off funcarreal street and then walking down 2 blocks, theres a small bar called "el tigre", its always full and its slightly expencive (1,80€ for a glass of beer, sangria or asturian cidre) but with each drink you get a whole plate of either pinchos, potatos a la brava (fried potatos with a local hot sauce) or paella, last time i was there i spent 6 euros (tip included) and walked out in a pretty sorry state due to overeating,

just a small bit of warning to the more moraly conservative here, the place is right on the edge of chueca, which is the gay district of madrid, not a big deal, but i just thought i should mention it so theres no nasty surprises,

 

[Maduro]

The Chimayo Restaurant in Chimayo, New Mexico has the best sangria I have ever had. Went there a few years ago while I was in Santa Fe. My girlfriend and I spent an incredible afternoon with a huge pitcher overlooking the desert from the patio.

You owe it to yourself to go to Chimayo if you are ever in NM. It's that good...


Marty E.

+1

My wife and I ate there a few years ago while visiting Santa Fe. We didn't order the sangria but if it was anywhere near as good as the carne adovado I ordered it must be great.